Commencement 2011

Commencement 2011

University of Alaska Southeast Commencement Ceremonies are taking place the weekend of
April 29-May 1 in Sitka, Ketchikan and Juneau.

Preliminary numbers show a total of 539 students are scheduled to graduate from the three UAS campuses; a 42% increase of graduates over 2010. The increase is in part due to new graduates in a Masters of Educational Leadership program and an Occupational Endorsement in Law Enforcement from the Sitka campus. UAS Chancellor John Pugh will attend all ceremonies. University of Alaska Regent Carl Marrs will assist in bestowing degrees at the Sitka and Ketchikan ceremonies. Regent Timothy Brady will do the same at the Ketchikan and Juneau ceremonies.

The 2011 Commencement ceremony for Sitka students is Friday, April 29, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. at Harrigan Centennial Hall. The student speaker is Deborah Miller who will be receiving an AAS in Health Information Management with the faculty response from the program’s director Leslie Gordon. The Sitka commencement speaker is Mollie Kabler, Director of Coast Alaska, Public Radio for Southeast Alaska. UA President Patrick Gamble will be present at the ceremony.

The Ketchikan ceremony will be held Saturday, April 30 at 3:00 PM at the Ted Ferry Civic Center. This year’s commencement keynote speaker is Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, Ed Zastrow. UAS Ketchikan Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Priscilla Schulte will help bestow honors and degrees at the ceremony.

The Juneau ceremony is Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m. at the UAS Rec Center. The Juneau commencement speaker and Honorary Doctorate of Education recipient is Annie Calkins. Calkins is a long time advocate for public education in Alaska. She is currently a force working to provide culturally sensitive and significant education to Alaska Native students. The student speaker and outstanding student in English is Grace Lumba, nominated for her consistently high quality academic work, and for bringing poetry and media to life on campus and in the broader community. Regents Kenneth J. Fisher and Robert Martin are scheduled to join Regent Brady in assisting Chancellor Pugh and Provost Richard A. Caulfield in conferring of degrees.